Let’s talk about how to work from home with a baby, successfully. And without burnout!
We’ll go over some content creation tips, efficient systems, and creating a routine that works for you. Seamlessly integrate being a mom business owner with the beautiful chaos of working from home with your little one (or littles if you have more than one like me:)). Here are some things that I’ve learned along the way to make it all a little easier.
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Table of Contents
- Is it possible to work from home with kids?
- How to Work from Home with a Baby and Promote Your Business
- Simplify Your Daily Routine: How to Work from Home with a Baby
- How to Work from Home with Kids: A Daily Routine
- Keep Your Toddler Busy While Working From Home
- Baby-Friendly Workspace Essentials:
- Efficiency Boosters: Tech-Savvy Solutions for Productivity
- Mompreneur Self-Care Kits:
- You Can Work from Home with a Baby
Is it possible to work from home with kids?
I know the feeling scouring the internet for ways to work from home with kids. Or Googling “how to stay home with my baby.” So let me give you some insight into what it’s really like working from home with kids in tow. And is it really possible to work from home with kids? Like successfully?
Short answer, yes! So breathe a sigh of relief, and let’s get into a few things to make your transition from corporate mom to stay at home working mom easier.
And to make it even easier, I’ve created a free download with 11 Must-Do Things Before You Quit Your 9-5.
These are the very first things to tackle when you’re thinking about leaving your corporate job behind.
How to Work from Home with a Baby and Promote Your Business
I get it. It seems daunting and honestly out of reach to run a successful business online while also raising kids and being a stay at home mom. So how can you create a business and run it, promote that business with content creation, and find time to still be present with your kids?
It all comes down to three things:
1. Creating a content strategy that makes your content creation process easier and faster. Basically as simple as possible. Think those connect the numbered dots coloring books for your kids.
2. It comes down to a good routine. Not a schedule. Tight work schedules are too rigid with kids. You can’t schedule something because it will inevitably get changed. And if you’re like me, then you’re stressing about the schedule being off. And it’s officially done the opposite of what it was intended to do, which is keep you on track and stress-free. Instead, keep a routine. Have certain days where you work on specific things.
3. Knowing that you have to first take care of yourself to take care of others. For me, I’ve found this can be something as simple as one hour per month that’s just for me. Once a month, I take my one day a week when the kids are at the sitter to watch a show. My own show that I watch by myself as I eat lunch that I didn’t have to make.
Learn more in this article: Content Strategy Framework
Simplify Your Daily Routine: How to Work from Home with a Baby
Now, let’s tackle the challenge of working from home with your adorable sidekick. Check out these practical Amazon finds to add a touch of simplicity to your daily routine:
How to Work from Home with Kids: A Daily Routine
For example, Mondays, are my big clean after the weekend day. That’s what I tackle first thing in the morning after school drop off. My littles are still in pjs and watch a little tv then switch to games like puzzles or block.
Then I take a break to get in a workout, and they usually play with our big kids kitchen/market setup. Then it’s time for another clean and they get a snack. Before we all sit down and play and learn together. And before we know it, it’s time for lunch, naps, and me to shower.
After all that’s done, I have about an hour sometimes longer to do some work items. Those are generally batched by weekday as well. When I sit down, I already know what to do. I’m not wasting time thinking about what’s next.
But I’m also not trying to stick to a certain time on the clock. The only thing that’s constant as far as a set schedule is the time my youngest naps, and the times we do school drop off and pick up. Lunch I try to do around the same time every day, but it can vary slightly as well.
If we’re playing school games and things are going well, I’m not going to stop them to eat lunch. I’m going to let them decide when they’re hungry. And if I’m still playing with my middle daughter and the clock hits my normal time to stop and work, I don’t necessarily just drop everything and go work. I might take a little more time with her or at least get to a good stopping point. I’ll also set her up with some things to work on by herself. This way she’s occupied, she’s learning on her own, and she doesn’t feel like I’m ignoring her in anyway. And below are a few items that help me do just that.
Keep Your Toddler Busy While Working From Home
So, there’s this period of time between your toddler taking naps and when they go to school. No one seems talk about it. But this has happened with both of oldest daugthers. It lasts about a year, maybe a little longer.
If you’re in that stage, or will be soon, check out How to Keep Toddlers Busy While Working From Home.
But if you’re in a hurry, here are a few of my favorite ways to entertain your toddler while you work:
- Kids Lap desk– We use this all the time! It’s perfect for any of these ideas listed below. This one is from Amazon, but we actually found ours at Michaels.
- Dot markers and dot activity workbooks. These link to Amazon products, but you can find dot activities at Target and Walmart too.
- Cutting and gluing workbook for kids
- Dry erase books – Get ready for Pre-K and get ready for Kindergarten.
- Old laptop or a tablet for online games- My kids love the PBS Kids games and apps. It really makes them feel like they’re “working” with you.
- Mess Free Coloring – Color Wonder Books (Perfect for in the car too) or Water Doodle Mat
Speaking of activities in the car. Check out this article Roadtrip with Kids: Travel Essentials.
Baby-Friendly Workspace Essentials:
With babies, the things you set up for them will definitely be different. But more importantly, the time away from them is different as well. They can play on a playmat while you work. Or sit in an activity center and play by themselves for a little bit. This gives you time to get some work done while knowing they’re safe and can’t roam the house the moment you get into your work.
Baby playtime is so different than toddler play time. With toddlers, the interruptions are generally “mommy, look what I made!” Or “can you help me?” With babies, your interruptions will be when they get tired, hungry, or simply bored with what they’re doing. It’s a little less predictable.
You’ll need to have items in close range to move them from area to area if need be. And you’ll have to make sure they’re in a time of day that isn’t too close to a nap or meal time. This will help ensure the best possible outcome for your planned work time.
Now for the baby-friendly workspace essentials. Here are some baby toys to occupy your newborn or older baby while you work.
- Activity https://amzn.to/42uRIoTCenter: Let your baby play and have fun while still being able to see you while you work at your desk. I like this one. It’s bulky and takes up space, but not too bulky like those old exersaucers. I also love that it grows with them from baby that can only sit up to toddler that’s learning to stand or walk.
- Baby Playmat: This playmat comes from Amazon, but any platmat will work. Just make sure it has lots of hanging toys and some musical options. This is perfect for younger babies not yet crawling. It’s great for getting those quick to-dos done.
- Play Pen for Baby: This is a 50×50 play pen. There are larger ones out there, but for me I needed one that took up a little less room. This works perfect to put a few toys around while I work. It doesn’t limit their explorations, so they’re free to roam about. But I also know they’re safe while I’m working.
- Baby Remote Teether: My kids were always trying to chew on the remote if they could get their hands on it. I was constantly tossing it somewhere high to keep it away from them. So when I saw this one, I knew I had to get it for some friends of our with a newborn. musical sounds toys
- Tummy Time Water Mat: This isn’t the exact mat that we have. I can’t find ours anymore, but this is one is larger and actually looks nicer. But a water mat to play with while on their tummy was one of my girls’ favorite toys. And they hated tummy time, so it was a necessity to get through it. Set a time, let them play, and also get a little work done yourself.
And those are just some ideas to get you started. You don’t need these exact things. Whatever works for you. But I would look into a playpen to keep them in one secured area, just incase you get lost in your work.
We all know how quickly they can get around once they start rolling, scooting, or crawling. And the activity center and tummy time water mat was always a huge hit at our house.
Efficiency Boosters: Tech-Savvy Solutions for Productivity
Discover gadgets and gizmos to streamline your workday, letting you conquer tasks efficiently while your little one naps.
- Amazon Echo Dot for creating to do lists. I love having them ready for me without needing a pen and paper. My desk used to be plastered with sticky notes. The Echo Dot has made things much more mangeable, and my desk looks better.
- Timers for working one hour at a time, or even just 15 minute increments for those quick to-dos. There are many online timers, but I used to just use my phone timer. Now, I use my Echo Dot to set a timer for me.
- AI tools – There are so many AI tools out there. And they aren’t just for writing content. There are AI tools for creating spreadsheets easier, for design, and so many other things. And if you use them as an aid, and not a full replacement for these functions they can really be helpful. Because at the end of the day, it’s created by a robot. So it doesn’t fully replace a human. But it can help you bounce ideas back and forth if you’re a solopreneur. Or even even be a jumpstart to yoru writing or design process. It helps me go from a blank page with a blinking cursor to a fairly decent rough draft. I can then go in and add my own information, remove inaccurate content, and add my own voice.
- Content Repurposing Tools like Repurpose.io. (Automatically repurposes your content for you. You can download a free repurposing guide on their website.
- Email automations with ConvertKit – You can automate tags, create an email welcome series that automatically goes out to new subscribers, and even segment your list based on their needs and wants. This helps you send relevant emails to your audience. And you can automate huge chunks of your email marketing. It’s a win-win.
Mompreneur Self-Care Kits:
Self-care is crucial to you success as a working SAHM. You’re already busy as a stay at home mom. It isn’t like you have tons of extra time on your hands.
- New Mom Self-Care Gift Basket: Including luxury home spa accessories perfect for new moms during the post-partum stage.
- Facial Skin Care Set & Spa Kit: Perfect for a Mothers Day Gift or just anytime. But this gift is the ultimate relaxation set. And it’s from Amazon and very affordable.
- Entrepreneur Subscription Box: Your subscription is a business write-off and includes: 1. A personal development book 2. Stationary, office supplies and tech gadgets 3. Trainings, masterclasses 4. Online community + members-only perks!
You Can Work from Home with a Baby
Remember, you’re not just managing a business and raising a tiny human – you’re gracefully navigating the delicate balance of career and cuddles.
And like I mentioned above, you don’t have to add a ton of extra time or work into your schedule. You want more time deposited back into your schedule, while also depositing money into your bank account.
So be sure to create a content strategy to make it easier and more efficient to promote you busienss online. Leaving you so much more time to spend with your family. And make sure you find ways to entertain your toddler or baby while you work. And lastly, don’t forget to take care of you. Don’t pour from an empty cup, blah, blah, blah. But seriously, you deserve to treat yourself every now and then with some quality me time. Something that you enjoy and preferably a little silence mixed in. There’s a reason Target doesn’t play music in their store. It’s one of the few quiet stores. Because they know their ideal buyers.
If you’re still wondering who your ideal buyers are, check out 4 Ways to Get Inside Your Target Audience’s Mind.
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